Union select 5 in MLS Supplemental Draft

Chester, Pa.– The Philadelphia Union selected five players in the 2013 MLS Supplemental Draft held via conference call between all 19 Major League Soccer coaches on Tuesday afternoon.

The Union selected Eric Schoenle (West Virginia), Uriah Bentick (Liberty), Mark Linnville (Princeton), Jake Keegan (Binghamton) and Leonardo Fernandes (Stony Brook) in the four round draft.

The Union picked twice in the first round by virtue of a deal made in last week’s MLS SuperDraft when it traded its No. 29 pick to Real Salt Lake for Real’s 31st pick of the SuperDraft in addition to the No. 12 and 17 spots in the Supplemental Draft.

With the No. 12 pick, the Union selected Schoenle, a defender and local product from Yardley who attended Pennsbury High School and played for youth club YMS. Schoenle, 21, earned a plethora of awards while attending WVU that include: MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List, Senior CLASS Award finalist, Senior CLASS Second Team All-American, NSCAA Third Team All-American, four-time NSCAA All-Region, two-time All-Big East and All-MAC First Team.  He graduated in December with a degree in business administration. Schoenle also was a Big East Academic All-Star, a member of the Garrett Ford Academic Honor Roll and Dean’s List while at WVU.

At No. 17, the club nabbed Bentick, a senior defender from Liberty. Bentick, 23, a native of Trinidad and Tobago is a member of T&T’s under-20 national team. He started all 18 matches in his senior season at Liberty, and was a three-time All Big South Conference first team selection.

Princeton’s Linnville was taken at No. 24 and is the third Tiger to be taken in the Supplemental Draft in consecutive seasons. Last season, the Union drafted forward Antoine Hoppenot with the 51st pick. Linnville, 21, is another defender who earned All-Ivy honors in four straight seasons, becoming just the eighth player all-time to do so. As team captain, Linnville anchored a defense that allowed only 0.96 goals per game last season.

Keegan, a forward from Binghamton was selected as the 43rd pick. At Binghamton, Keegan, 21, scored 28 career goals, the most goals since the school switched to a Division I program and ranks sixth overall in program history. A third team NSCAA Regional selection, Keegan ranked second in the America East Conference and 28th in the NCAA in goals scored with an average of 0.61 per game (18 games).

Fernandes, a 21-year-old midfielder from Stony Brook was a three-time America East midfielder of the year and is heralded as the program’s “most decorated player.” The 2009 America East rookie of the year is also the first player from the school to be drafted into MLS.

All five will immediately join the Union during its preseason training currently underway at YSC Sports in Wayne before a move to the Eagles’ NovaCare Complex on Jan. 28. The Union will then conclude its preseason training in Florida based out of the Orlando-Deltona region beginning Feb. 8.